


Wingman

by nikkiRA



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-08-30
Packaged: 2018-04-17 23:17:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4684928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nikkiRA/pseuds/nikkiRA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jason has this really annoying habit of setting Nico up with people at the bar and then interfering almost immediately after. Or, the one in which Jason is the world's worst wingman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wingman

“That one over there is cute,” Jason says, nodding at a man sitting at the bar. Nico takes a brief look and then turns back to Jason.

“Didn’t really peg him as your type, Grace,” he says with a smirk. Percy snorts, and Jason glares.

“You know what I mean,” he says meaningfully. Nico rolls his eyes.

“Can we have one night where you don’t try to set me up with a stranger? Please?”

“I’m just trying to help,” Jason says, trying not to sound petulant. Nico sighs and exchanges a glance with Percy. Jason doesn’t know what goes down between them, but Nico turns back and says, “Fine,” glaring at him when Jason grins.

All of them are decently different, eight years after Gaea, but Nico has changed the most. He is still way too fucking thin, but nothing that Jason or Hazel does seems to be able to fix this. He is taller now, taller even than Percy, and he had cut his hair, an undercut that let you see his face. He couldn’t hide behind his hair anymore, but he walks with more confidence, now, and his eyes were brighter. Less angry.

He still dressed mostly in black, though. Some things never change.

“Do that thing you do, when you trace over your wrist tattoo with your fingers. And run your hands through your hair. And –”

Nico shakes his head and leaves. When Jason looks at Percy, he is smirking at him. “What?”

Percy just shakes his head.

“Nothing, dude. Not a thing.”

Jason gives him a searching look, then turns back to the bar, where Nico has taken the seat next to the man.

Nico’s brand of flirting involves looking irresistible and letting people come to him. This helps to ensure a 100% success rate with regards to the sexuality of the men, not to mention the fact that even though he’s changed an awful lot, he’s still not really one to randomly walk up to someone and start hitting on them.

Jason doesn’t know if his gaydar is amazing or if Nico is just that attractive, but most people he tries to set Nico up with normally works out. Sure enough, the man at the bar takes a long look at Nico (who is doing the wrist thing, just like Jason had told him to – Jason knows that it brings attention to Nico’s long fingers and the muscles in his arms. Not that he’s looking) and smoothly calls the bartender over. He leans closer to Nico, who smirks. Jason feels an odd constriction in his heart that he firmly ignores.

“So,” Percy tries to draw him back into the conversation. “Earth to Jason Grace.”

Jason glances away from Nico, who now has a drink. Percy is looking at him in amusement. “Annabeth used to tell me I was the most oblivious person there ever was. But you’ve got me beat.”

“What does that mean?”

Percy smiles and reaches out to pat his hand, but other than that he doesn’t say a word.

When Jason looks back at Nico the man has a hand on his arm. Jason bristles.

“Nico doesn’t like being touched,” he mutters. Percy glances at the bar.

“He doesn’t seem to mind it much now,” he says mildly. Jason ignores this.

“He doesn’t like people touching him. It freaks him out. He shouldn’t be –”

“Jason.” Percy is looking at him seriously. “Nico is 22 years old. Nico has helped save the world twice. Nico has been through Tartarus and lived to tell the tale. Nico can handle one drunk mortal.”

Jason chews his lip. “He looks stressed. I don’t like this dude. What if he’s a monster?”

“A monster who tries to buy demigods drinks and tries to get into their pants?”

Jason balks. “Do you think that’s what he’s doing?”

“Well he doesn’t want to play Mythomagic.”

“I don’t like how he’s looking at him.”

Percy sighs heavily. “Jason, this is getting out of hand.”

“What is?”

“The way you try to set him up with people and then immediately interfere when you start getting jealous.”

Jason shoots him a look before turning back to the scene at the bar. “I’m not jealous. I just don’t think they’re good enough for him.”

Percy thunks his head down on the table. “You are so transparent,” he says. Jason ignores this.

“I’m going in,” he says. Percy lifts his head.

“Jason –”

“He’s clearly uncomfortable.”

Nico is smiling.

“Oh, yeah. He looks worse than that time we found him in a jar.”

Jason shakes his head. He stands up; Percy grabs his arm but he shakes him off.

“Jason!” He hisses. “Jason!”

Jason slides up beside Nico, getting in the way between Nico and the guy.

“Can I talk to you?”

It’s been a while since he was subjected to a genuine Nico di Angelo glare. He had forgotten how scary it could be.

“I’m busy.”

“It’s important.”

“I’m busy,” he says through clenched teeth. Any normal person would see this as Nico trying to shoo Jason away. Jason sees it as a cry for help.

“C’mon… honey. I really need to talk to you.”

Nico’s eyes widen. The temperature around them is dropping fast. Jason can hear someone ask the bartender if the heat has broken.

“Er…” the man gets up, shivering in his jacket. “Sorry. I thought – sorry.”

He hurries off. Nico is glaring so fiercely at him Jason is afraid the bar is about to be overrun by skeletons.

“What is wrong with you?” Nico hisses. Jason steps back.

“I thought…”

Nico storms past him, stomping to the table and grabbing his jacket. “I’ll see you, Percy,” he says, pushing past Jason, who stares at him in confusion.

“What did I do?”

Percy looks at him pityingly. “Unbelievable,” he mutters, standing up and clapping Jason the back. “You’ve got some work to do, bro. I know from firsthand experience what happens when you make Nico mad. Best of luck.”

Jason watches him go, a sinking feeling in his heart.

Jason doesn’t know if Nico will have gone back to their apartment, but it’s the first place Jason can think of to check, because he figures an apology is in order.

Jason had moved in with Nico three years ago, after him and Piper had broken up. Nico’s apartment was nice and decently large – son of the god of wealth, and all that.

On the way back home, Jason thinks over the night. He had honestly thought that Nico wasn’t enjoying himself. Apparently he had read the signs wrong.

Or maybe he was just seeing the signs he wanted to see.

He thinks back to what Percy had said. Was this really something he did often? Set Nico up with people and then sabotage it? Well, sure, sometimes. But he always had a good reason. Like that one dude who had leered at Nico the entire time, looking at him like a piece of meat. There’s no way he would let that guy treat Nico like that. And there was one who just didn’t stop laughing, like, the entire time. Percy hadn’t seen anything wrong with that, but Jason thought that if he was laughing like that he wasn’t really listening.

He can hear a voice in his head, but he can’t tell who the voice of reason is; it sounds like Piper, maybe Annabeth. It might even be Percy, which is terrifying. Jason doesn’t want to be at a point in his life where Percy Jackson is the voice of reason.

_And what about that one guy, the redhead?_

He looked like a workaholic.

_And that one last week?_

He drank too fast. He might have had a drinking problem.

_And the muscly European?_

He had an accent. What if he returned home and broke Nico’s heart?

_Unbelievable._ That’s definitely Percy’s voice.

Jason just wanted the best for Nico. It wasn’t his fault no one measured up.

He unlocks the door. Nico’s bedroom door is shut. Jason knocks lightly.

“Hey, Nico? Can I talk to you?”

The door swings open. Nico’s eyes are flashing dangerously. Jason wonders if skeletons could reach the eighth floor.

“What could you possibly have to say to me right now?”

“I’m sorry. I thought… I thought you weren’t enjoying yourself. I thought you didn’t like him.”

“What is your _problem,_ Jason?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is this a game to you? Are you bored? Life is boring since Piper left so you use my life as entertainment?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know, at first it was kind of funny. You being your stupid, overprotective self. But it’s not funny anymore, Grace. I really liked that guy! What was your problem with this one?”

Jason blushes. “He was touching you. You don’t like being touched.”

Nico stares at him. “Touch me.”

“Wh-what?”

“Touch me. Grab me by the arm, like he did.”

Jason reaches out and touches Nico’s arm, lightly, ignoring the light shock that hits him.

Nico grabs Jason’s hand and flips him over his shoulder. Jason lies on the ground, looking up at Nico. The breath has been knocked out of him.

“That is what happens when I don’t want people touching me. Do you remember seeing that man on the floor of the bar?”

“No,” Jason says nervously. He hasn’t gotten up yet – he’s too afraid to, to be honest.

“Then what does that tell you?” Nico’s voice is angry and condescending at the same time.

“That you wanted him to touch you?”

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but I’m not fourteen anymore.”

“I know that.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know that, too.”

“Then stop fucking babying me, Grace, or you will regret it.”

With that he slams his door, leaving Jason lying on his back staring up at the ceiling, a painful feeling in his chest that has nothing to do with the fact that Nico had flipped him.

* * *

His dreams are odd, and that’s saying something. He’s a demigod. There’s no such thing as a normal dream.

He dreams he is at a bar. Percy is beside him, and just like tonight, Nico is at the bar, talking to a stranger. Jason’s blood is boiling.

He stalks up to the bar. Nico is smiling at the man, whose back is facing Jason. Jason angrily reaches out, grabbing the man by the shoulder, and spins him around to see his face.

It’s him. It’s Jason.

He doesn’t really have time to process that before he punches himself – the Jason at the bar – in the face.

* * *

When he wakes up Nico is gone. Probably with Hazel. Jason eats breakfast quickly and then sends an IM to Piper.

“Hey. Can we meet up?”

Piper searches his face. “Of course. I can come over there?”

Jason nods thankfully.

Piper gets there about forty minutes later. As soon as she gets in the door she asks him what’s wrong. Leave it to Piper.

“I’m… I’m confused.”

He explains to her what had happened last night, what Percy had said, and then what happened when he got home. He even tells her about his dream, although he can’t seem to look her in the eye when he does. When he’s done, Piper stares at him for a very long time. Then she reaches out and caresses his face gently.

“Oh, Jason. You’re so, so dumb.”

“Ouch.”

“No, seriously. You are so adorably stupid.”

“Is this supposed to be making me feel better?”

“Okay. We were all hoping you’d realize this yourself, but it’s getting out of hand and now both of you are getting hurt. Physically and emotionally.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, no kidding.”

Piper leads him to the couch and forces him to sit. Then she kneels in front of him and grabs his hands.

“Jason,” she says seriously. “You’re in love with Nico.”

He blinks, and he leans back, but he doesn’t jump to deny it. That probably means something.

The thing is, it makes sense. He thinks back to what Percy had said, about him being jealous. Maybe that’s what it is. Maybe it wasn’t just that no one was good enough for Nico; maybe it was that Jason didn’t want them to be good enough. Because they weren’t him.

“How long…”

Piper laughs. “You want me to tell you how long you’ve been in love with Nico?”

“How did you know?”

“Doesn’t take a daughter of Aphrodite to figure it out, Jason.”

Jason slumps against the couch. “Does everybody know?”

“Not everyone,” she says soothingly. “Nico doesn’t.”

Jason groans and leans into Piper, resting his head on her shoulder.

“Are you going to tell him?”

Jason lifts his head. “I can’t. Nico will never believe me, and then he’ll never forgive me.”

Piper looks at him sadly. “Then what are you going to do?”

Jason shrugs. “Suck it up, I guess.”

Piper sighs and then kisses him on the forehead.

“How fucked am I?”

“Speaking as a daughter of love? Fucked.”

“You’re so uplifting.”

Piper stays a few hours. Around two Nico comes home; he nods at Piper and ignores Jason, retreating into his room.

“He is really mad at you.”

“Gee, thanks. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Piper smiles. “I’m gonna go. Talk to him, okay?”

Jason makes a noncommittal noise.

“If you think I won’t charmspeak you then you’re mistaken.”

“We had a rule!”

“All’s fair in love and war,” she says sweetly. Jason watches her leave and then glances at Nico’s bedroom door.

“Hey, Nico? Are we on speaking terms yet?”

Nico opens the door. He is wearing sweatpants and that stupid skull shirt that barely fits and always rides up whenever he moves. His eyes are cold.

“Depends.”

“On?”

“How good your apology is.”

Jason smiles. “I have realized that even though my intentions start out good, they don’t end that way. It’s just that I want you to meet somebody but I can never really follow through with it. No one seems… good enough for you.”

He likes to think that Nico’s face softens.

“So I’m sorry. I’ll stop trying to set you up. And if I do then I’ll stop interfering.”

Nico keeps staring at him.

“And dinner’s on me.”

Nico smiles and oh, Jason is in _so_ deep.

“That’s what I like to hear.”

* * *

On the list of things you should never, ever do, falling in love with your best friend/roommate is probably number one on the list. At the very least top five. And Jason has done a lot of things he shouldn’t have.

Now that he was finally able to admit to himself how he felt, everything became so much harder. Like, for instance, over the years Nico and Jason had grown closer and closer until eventually Jason could touch him and Nico would hardly notice. Jason used to be very proud about this, because Hazel was the only other person who was that close to Nico. But now Jason was acutely aware of any little touch, and there were many. Like when Nico squeezes into their small bathroom to brush his teeth while Jason is shaving (“Do you have to shave now?” “I was here first!”). Or when Nico reaches up to grabs the sugar on the top shelf, using Jason’s shoulder to steady himself, his shirt riding up to show a stretch of pale stomach (“Why do we have to keep this up here?” “I’m trying to save you from diabetes.”). Even things Jason had stopped noticing, like how he’d always lean against Nico when they were watching a movie or how Nico would shove his bare feet under Jason’s thighs to keep them warm while they were sitting on the couch. He can’t remember when they got this comfortable with each other. It almost seems like they had always been this way, but Jason can remember a sad, scared boy who didn’t trust anyone. Jason had worked incredibly hard to get Nico to trust him, and even though it’s getting harder and harder to be near him without kissing him, Jason knows that he would lose the trust he had worked so painstakingly hard to gain.

“You’ve been acting strange lately,” Nico says one day. They are eating dinner on the couch; one of Nico’s legs is tucked under him and his foot is pressed into Jason’s thigh.

“Have I?” His voice probably isn’t as high as he thinks it is.

“Yes, you have. What’s wrong with you?”

Jason looks at him. His eyes are narrowed, but they are worried. He is worried about him. Jason feels very warm.

“Nothing, really. Just… stressed. School. Sorry. I didn’t even realize I was acting differently.”

Nico studies him carefully. Jason can tell he doesn’t believe him, but he doesn’t push. Nico never pushes.

“Whatever,” he says.

* * *

“So,” Percy says. “Who’s going to be Nico’s lucky partner tonight?”

Jason glares. Nico just smirks.

“Jason and I have an understanding.”

“Which is?”

“He stops interfering and I don’t beat the shit out of him.”

Percy laughs. “Fair enough.”

They have a few drinks. They laugh and share stories. This is something they do often, these Big Three outings. The three of them had become inseparably close after the war, and even though all of them were still very close friends, the three of them had a special bond. A bond Jason had to go and ruin by falling in love with one of them. Sure, Nico had had a crush on Percy a thousand years ago, but that had been nothing like this. Nothing like the all-consuming desire that lit Jason on fire every time Nico had so much as looked at him.

“Okay, Jason. Just for shits and giggles, who would you set Nico up with here tonight?”

“I said I wouldn’t.”

“Hence shits and giggles.”

Jason glances at Nico, who is running his fingers along the rim of the glass. He looks up, as if sensing Jason’s stare. He smiles.

“Shits and giggles, Jason.”

Jason sighs, glancing around the bar. Eventually he nods to a man at the bar, sitting alone. He is thin, although not quite as thin as Nico, and his hair is pulled back into a ponytail at his neck. Nico looks at him.

“You know,” he says thoughtfully, “You have pretty nice taste, Grace.” He throws back the rest of his beer and stands up, and before Jason can say another word he has made his way to the bar.

Jason kind of feels like he wants to throw up.

“Hey. You all right, man?” Percy is quiet. Jason finds he can’t quite meet his eyes.

“I talked to Piper.”

Percy understands. He glances over to Nico at the bar, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Jason stares at the table. “Is he doing the wrist thing?”

“…No.”

Jason rests his head in his hands. “And the hair?”

Percy’s silence is all he needs.

“I can go and casually mention that Nico has herpes, if you’d like.”

Jason smiles. “Thanks, dude. But I’m okay.”

“Suit yourself.”

They sit in silence until Nico slides back into the booth next to Percy. There’s a slip of paper in his hand.

“You know, it’s kind of hard to hook up with mortals if you don’t have a cellphone,” he says mildly. “People always look at you funny when you say you don’t have one. Someone once asked how old I was. I said I was ninety something. I don’t think he believed me.”

Percy laughs. Jason watches Nico slip the piece of paper into his pocket and feels sick.

“Good work, Jason,” Nico says with a smirk.

Jason excuses himself to the bathroom.

* * *

Nico gets a cell phone, curtesy of Annabeth.

“Wow.” Jason tries to mean it. “He must be something special.”

“Not necessarily. But someone might be.”

“Why mortals?”

“What?”

“The guys you pick up… why are they all mortals?”

Nico shrugs. “Mortals at a mortal bar.”

“They say you’re not supposed to meet your partner at a bar.”

“Who says I’m looking for a partner?”

Nico is looking at him, but Jason can’t read his expression.

“What are you looking for?”

Nico smiles, but there is no warmth in it. “A distraction,” is all he says, before retreating to his room.

* * *

The guy’s name is Richard. What a stupid name. Jason strongly resists the urge to make a dick joke.

“He’s too old for you.”

“I’m not planning on marrying him, Jason.”

Jason chews his lip. “Do you know anything about him?”

Nico yawns. They are watching a movie on the couch; Nico is more or less curled into him.

“His name is Richard.”

Jason rolls his eyes. “What if he’s a monster?”

“Monsters have gotten much more sophisticated, then.”

Jason ignores the buzzing of Nico’s new phone.

* * *

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m not doing anything!”

“You’re sulking.”

“I’m not sulking.”

“Bro. You’re totally sulking.”

Jason glares at Leo. “I don’t remember asking you.”

“Ouch. That hurts, dude.”

Jason scowls.

“Why don’t you just tell him?”

“I told you. Nico would never forgive me. I can’t lose him as a friend.”

Piper scrunches up her nose. “This is so RomCom.”

“I’m missing the Com part,” Jason says.

“I don’t know. It’s pretty funny on this side. The amazing Jason Grace, praetor of Rome, heartbroken over Nico di Angelo.”

Jason glares. “Who invited Leo?”

Leo clutches his heart. “You wound me, bro.”

“Look, Jason, if you don’t talk to him things are just going to get worse and you’re going to lose him anyway.”

Jason groans. “I’m so fucked.”

“I thought the problem is that you _weren’t_ getting fucked.”

Piper is able to punch Leo in the stomach before Jason can.

* * *

As Jason is getting home, Richard is leaving.

“Oh! Sorry! You’re, uh, Jason, right?”

Jason stands up to his full height. “Yeah.”

“Richard,” he says, sticking out his hand. Jason tries not too subtly to break it.

When he gets inside Nico is in his room. Jason knocks on his door.

“One sec,” Nico says, but Jason doesn’t listen. He opens the door and glares at the half naked Nico di Angelo inside.

“What the fuck, Jason!”

Nico is shirtless, clad only in boxers and socks. Later, when things calm down, Jason will ask Nico if he had fucked with his socks on, and Nico will blush such a violent shade of red that Jason will make fun of him for years.

But now all that happens is that Nico stares, shocked, as Jason glares at him.

“You can’t just bring strange men back to the apartment.”

“Excuse me?” Nico’s voice is very low, and if Jason were in a better state of mind he would have recognized this as the sign that means he is going to regret this very, very soon. But Jason isn’t in a proper state of mind. Jason can see a hickey starting to form on Nico’s neck and he is seeing red.

“You can’t just bring strange men back to our apartment. It’s dangerous. You should know better.”

He regrets the words as soon as he says them, but he stands strong. Don’t let them see you doubt yourself, Reyna had told him once.

Nico di Angelo has grown up. The Nico of a few years ago would have melted into the shadows in anger, hid away from everybody, would have slunk away to the Underworld and hid there for weeks. But this Nico di Angelo stands his ground. This Nico stands to full height and says, with enough anger and venom in his voice to scare the entire Roman army, “Get out.”

“What?”

“This is my apartment. Not ours. Now get out of it before I am forced to make you.”

Jason is too shocked to argue –not that there’s anything to argue about. Nico is entirely in the right. So he turns around and hightails it out of there, showing up at Piper’s door with his tail between his legs.

* * *

Piper calls an emergency meeting. Leo, Percy and Annabeth all meet at her apartment, while Hazel and Frank look on via Iris Message.

“I don’t think this is necessary,” Jason mutters.

“It’s definitely necessary.”

“We all saved the world. Surely there’s something more important we could be doing.”

“Nope,” Leo says with a smile. “Time for Operation Help Jason Fuck Nico di Angelo! Er, sorry Hazel. I know you’re all old and fragile and stuff.”

Hazel makes a face. “I am not old and fragile, Leo. But I don’t think we need to use that language.”

“Fine. Operation Help Jason Make Sweet, Sweet Love to Nico di Angelo.”

“Leo! You are not helping.”

“Jason, tell everyone what you did.”

“No! This is ridiculous! This is a private matter!”

Annabeth is about to say something when they hear a knock. Piper gets up but Hazel says, “No, that was our end. It’s probably Nico.”

“Great,” Jason mutters.

Sure enough, Hazel opens the door and Jason can see Nico’s shoes at the very edge of the IM. He hears them talking and then Nico comes into view. His face hardens when he sees Jason.

“What are you all doing?”

“War meeting,” Leo calls out which, hey, why not.

“Okay. Sure. Hazel, can I talk to you privately?”

Hazel nods. “Frank, you’re in charge.”

“A scary day for all of us,” Leo says, wincing as Piper elbows him. “They’re probably talking about you, you know.”

Jason groans and buries his face in his hands. “Someone hit Leo for me.”

“Ow! One of you! Only one of you needed to hit me!”

“I’m just gonna go, guys. I, uh. Appreciate this, I guess. Pipes, can I stay with you for a bit? I’m just gonna get some stuff while he’s visiting Hazel.”

Jason doesn’t know how long he should pack for. He fills a duffel bag with clothes and a few books. He debates taking the horribly tacky lamp he had bought for the apartment, but decides against it. Piper would never let him display it in her place.

He is just finishing up when Nico gets home.

“Don’t worry,” he mutters. “I’m leaving soon.”

He looks around and gods, he really shouldn’t have done that. Nico is wearing skinny jeans and one of Jason’s old sweaters, which is way too fucking big for him but also looks really, really hot. His arms are crossed and he is leaning against the doorframe. Jason finds it very hard to concentrate on anything except how much he wants to shove Nico up against the wall and fuck him while he’s wearing Jason sweater.

“War meeting.”

“What?”

“Leo said you were in a war meeting.”

“Leo says a lot of things.”

“So then what were you doing?”

Jason smiles slightly. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

Nico is already angry at him, he muses. What else does he have to lose?

One of the best friends he’s ever had, technically, but he’s not going to focus on that.

“I’m in love with you.”

Whatever Nico had been expecting, that hadn’t been it. His eyes widen and he takes a step back.

“What the fuck, Grace?”

“It’s true,” Jason says miserably. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to tell you, but I – I couldn’t keep it quiet, anymore, and I figured I should explain to you why I’ve been acting so strangely. I’m sorry.”

Nico swallows and takes another step back. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s why I always interfere with the people I try to set you up with. It’s why I can never follow through. I get jealous.”

“I thought we were friends.” Nico’s voice is barely more than a whisper.

“We are. Nico –”

Nico shakes his head. “I can’t believe – I can’t believe that you of all people would do this.”

“It’s not a joke. I promise.”

“How can you sit there and just fucking say that? To my face?”

“I don’t expect you to do anything but you at least have to believe me.”

“You know, I could see Leo pulling this. Maybe, _maybe_ even Percy. But not you. I thought you were better than this. I thought – I thought I meant more to you than that.”

“You do –”

Nico spins around and melts into the shadows, disappearing into thin air. Jason collapses onto his bed and buries his face in his pillow.

* * *

It takes Hazel a week to convince Nico to speak to him. Nico shadow travels directly into Piper’s spare bedroom and kicks the bed until Jason wakes up.

“What the –” Jason sits up and catches sight of Nico, glaring down at him. If he hadn’t been so happy to see him he would have been terrified.

“Hazel told me I had to at least listen to what you have to say before I ran away. So. Talk.”

“I don’t know what else to say. I’ve already told you everything.”

“Are you seriously still sticking with that story?”

“It’s the truth.”

Nico glares. “Okay. Say, hypothetically, that you’re telling the truth, and that I believe you. What do you expect me to do about it?”

“Nothing. Like I said. I didn’t even want to tell you. I knew it would just complicate things. But I figured I should explain why I’ve been acting the way I have been, and the only reasonable explanation was – well, the truth. I’m sorry, really. I never wanted to ruin things between us and I never wanted to break your trust.”

Nico looks around for a place to sit but there is none, so he perches on the side of the bed, far away from Jason.

“I don’t know how to convince you that I’m telling the truth. I’ve never lied to you before.” Nico can’t dispute that. He chews his lip, and Jason leans forward. “I would never intentionally do something to hurt you.”

“I know.”

“So then the only option is that I’m telling the truth.”

Nico huffs. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why would you be interested in me?”

Jason leans back. “Do you honestly still believe that no one could be genuinely interested in you?”

Nico shakes his head. “No. I know people are interested in me. But none of them are like… you.” Nico gestures at him.

“What does that mean?”

Nico rolls his eyes. “You know very well what it means, Jason.”

“You’re too judgemental,” Jason says before he can stop himself. Nico’s eyes narrow.

“Excuse me?”

Good one, Grace. Tell the guy you’re in love with him and then insult him. He should write a book. 101 ways not to flirt, by Jason Grace.

“You think that just because someone looks a certain way they couldn’t possibly be into you. But that’s bullshit.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I just want things to go back to normal with us.”

Is that… disappointment he sees flick across Nico’s face? No way. It couldn’t be.

“That’s it? That’s really all you want?”

No. He wants so much more.

“That’s it.”

“Fine. I’ll pretend this never happened if you do the same.”

That’s the best he can get, he knows.

“Okay.”

* * *

They try. Really they do. But Nico doesn’t touch him casually anymore and gone is the ease that is normally present between them.

Jason has ruined everything.

He doesn’t know if Nico is still seeing Richard. If he is, he hasn’t been around the apartment.

Percy, in an attempt to remind them of the good old days, drags them out to a bar. It is enjoyable, for the most part. Nico stays with them the entire time and occasionally he will even smile, but mostly that’s because of Percy.

But sometimes the world comes through in unexpected ways. This unexpected way happened to occur in the form of monsters.

Jason notices them first. It’s not the first time they’ve been attacked; three demigods attract a lot of attention, and sons of the Big Three even more so. He points them out to Percy and Nico. The plan is to try and lead them out of the bar, but that doesn’t turn out well for them, judging from the poison splattered across the table.

“Fuck,” Nico shouts, jumping up from the table. The people around them start screaming. Jason doesn’t know what they see, but he hopes he’s the good guy.

“Outside!” Percy shouts. They bolt – Jason will have to come back and pay their bill, but they have to protect the mortals.

There are only two of them, but they are large. Jason doesn’t know what they are – Annabeth is normally the walking monster encyclopedia. One of them lunges at Percy, who side steps and then follows it into an alley. The bigger one advances towards Jason and Nico. They stand side by side, swords drawn.

“You got my back?” Jason asks.

“You know it.”

Jason lunges.

Him and Nico are a good team. The monster moves to get away from Jason and spins towards Nico, who jabs with his sword. The creature lashes out, raking his claws across Jason’s chest.

“Jason!” Nico snarls and lunges forwards with renewed anger, slashing at the monster, moving faster and faster until his sword is impaled in the monster’s chest, and then there is just a pile of dust on the ground.

“Are you okay?” Nico asks, kneeling in front of him. His fingers hover over the slash on Jason’s chest.

“I’m fine. You should check on Percy.”

“Percy can handle himself.” He checks his pockets and curses. “I don’t have any ambrosia. C’mon. I’m gonna shadow travel us back home.”

“Percy –”

“Will be fine.” Nico gets up and pokes his head down the alley. “You all right, Percy?”

Jason dimly hears him shout out, “Having the time of my life!”

“See?” Nico says. “He’s fine.”

“I think that was sarcasm.”

But Nico doesn’t say anything else, just grabs him by the arm. Jason feels like his stomach has dropped out of his body and then they’re in their apartment.

“I hate doing that,” he mutters. Nico rushes into the kitchen and comes back with some ambrosia.

“Here.”

“Nico, it’s not that bad. I’ve been hurt worse before.”

Nico doesn’t answer. He lifts Jason’s shirt over his head and he can’t help but think that this is not the way he wanted Nico to undress him.

Nico cleans the slash, hands steady. Jason has missed him.

“How’s Richard?” He doesn’t know why he says this; maybe because this is the first time he’s had Nico’s undivided attention in a long time.

“Who?”

“You know… that guy.”

Nico looks at him incredulously. “I don’t know. I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

“Oh.”

“Is that… are you jealous?”

“No. I was just wondering.”

Reyna’s dogs would have ripped him to shreds.

Nico’s fingers lightly ghost across his chest. Jason swallows audibly. Nico’s eyes are very dark.

“You don’t want to just be friends, do you?”

Jason debates lying, but he had told Nico he never lied to him and he’s not about to start. “No,” is what he says, because it’s the truth. He doesn’t know if he can do this anymore. If things were really back to normal maybe he could have been content, but this awkwardness that had crept between them was too much.

“Did you really mean it? The way you said you felt about me?”

Jason nods, and Nico kisses him.

It’s pretty much exactly how he would have expected it to be. Nico’s lips are soft but he is clutching Jason’s shirt tightly. Nico melts into him, and Jason feels like he’s floating.

Hang on. He’s not, is he?

No, he’s good. Still on the ground. All right.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”

Nico catapults off of Jason’s lap. Percy’s face is hovering in an IM, glaring at the two of them. Jason is really going to have to talk to Iris about some kind of sock on the door feature.

“You ditch me during a fight to go make out? Seriously?”

Nico is very red. “Jason was hurt.”

“Yeah, he looks awful.”

“I checked to make sure you were okay.”

“I’m not concerned because I can’t handle one measly monster, I was concerned because my two closest friends suddenly disappeared.”

Jason tries to look ashamed, but it’s hard when he’s so _fucking happy._

“Sorry, Percy.”

Percy glares. “If you two hadn’t been so miserable lately I would be angrier. But you both owe me!”

Both him and Nico nod, and Percy smiles.

“Good. Now I’m going to tell everyone! Bye!”

They both stare in wonder as the Iris Message disappears. Nico turns to look at Jason, who just shrugs.

All their friends call, but they ignore it. Even when Leo blasts _Let’s Get it On_ through the IM.

**Author's Note:**

> for the record, i imagine the tattoo on Nico's wrist to be a small silver bow, in memory of Bianca.


End file.
